Over the last 2 years or so we've seen several fighters emerge, improve and become credible fighters at various levels in the sport. One of the most remarkable developments during that time has been that of Japanese fighter Yuko Kuroki (15-4-1, 7). Back in April 2014 Kuroki was 10-4-1 and had gone 1-2-1 in her previous 4 bouts, in fact it seemed like she was going to toil on the fringes of the OPBF title scene. Since then however she has gone 5-0, claimed the WBC female Minimumweight title and scored notable wins over Mari Ando, Katia Gutierrerz, Masae Akitaya and Nancy Franco.

This coming Monday Kuroki looks to continue her reign as a world champion as she takes on Filipino title challenger Norj Guro (7-5-1, 4), who is challenging for a world title for the second time.

The champion is a fighter who has improved significantly. She's skilled, hard working, tough and knows that every fight can be a stepping stone towards becoming a better fighter. Although she has got losses on her record they have typically come to good fighters, like Naoko Shibata, Saemi Hanagata and Etsuko Tada. Those losses were set backs but they were also developmental fights allowing her to work on things, push herself and gain valuable experience in her young boxing career.

The challenger hasn't yet proven herself as being a fringe world class fighter, despite this being her second world title bout. Going through her record we see no wins of note, in fact 6 of her 7 wins have been against debutants. Notably she has been fighting at higher weights than Minimumweight but has lost to every opponent with any value, such as Riyo Togo, Hee Jung Yuh, Buakaew OnesongchaiGym, Nao Ikeyama and Jessica Chavez. Although Guro has lost every time she's fought someone with a win, she has shown her toughness and has only been stopped once, by the big punching Riyo Togo.

Coming into this one it's impossible to think that the title will be changing hands, this is a huge step backwards for the champion but should work as a launch pad to bigger and better fights. What will be interesting however will be the manner of the win. Kuroki could take a shut out win without any problems, but if she's looking to a chase a stoppage she could make a statement, doing what the brilliant Jessica Chavez couldn't do. That really has to be the target for the champion.

In 2014 we saw veteran fighter Nao Ikeyama (15-3-1, 4) become the inaugural WBO Atomweight champion at the advanced age of 44. To win the title Ikeyama easily out worked, out fought, out boxed and out battled Filipino Jessebelle Pagaduan, despite the fact Pagaduan was more than a decade younger than Ikeyama. Last September Ikeyama recorded the first defence of her title, just days after she 45, by narrowly but clearly beating Mase Akitaya. On February 28th she will hope to bag her second defence as she again takes on a much younger foe and attempts to battle back against father time and mother nature.

The much younger foe will be 24 year old Filipino challenger Norj Guro (7-3-1, 4) who will be fighting in her first “Big 4” world title bout and although she is much younger than the champion she is still viewed as the notable under-dog.

Although the champion is 45 she is full of desire and energy that belie her years. As well as her brilliant engine she is also tough and has shared the ring with several notable fighters, including Nanako Kikuchi, Ayaka Miya, Krisztina Belinszky and Momo Koseki, and has a career dating back to 2003. The desire to be a world champion drove her to winning her title and that same desire will see her doing all she can to keep it for as long as possible.

It's hard to say too much about Guro in terms of what she's like as a fighter due to next to no footage of her being available however we can get a read of her from her opposition and her record.

The Filipino started her career 5-0 (4) though all 5 of those bouts came against debutants. Her running came to an end when she faced her first notable opponent, Japan's Riyo Togo, who stopped her in 4 rounds. Since then Guro has gone 3-2-1 with her wins coming against a debutant and a 0-1 fighter whilst her losses have come to the only fighters with more than a single bout of experience.

Going on what we know of the two fighters it's hard to see anything but a clear win for Ikeyama who should retain her title with out too many worries. The only worry we have for Ikeyama is her age and there is a chance she could “get old over-night”. There is a chance of that but it's slim and even if that happens we still suspect she'll know enough trick to over-come Guro.

This coming Saturday in Mexico fight fans will be treat to a triple header of inter-continental bouts between Asian fighters and Mexican's.

The headline bout is a fantastic clash between former world champion Rodrigo Guerrero and unbeaten Japanese fighter Takahiro Shigee though before that clash we get a female world title fight between talented Mexican Anabel Ortiz (14-3, 2) and little known Filipino challenger Norj Guro (7-3-1, 4).

Ortiz is a name who will be known to Asian fans, specifically Japanese fans, courtesy of her fights with Nanako Kikuchi, Naoko Fujioka and Etsuko Tada. Those bouts all showed Ortiz to be a very competitive fighter and despite losing to Fujioka she has bounced back very well to establish herself as one of, if not the, best female Minimumweight on the planet.

Sadly for Ortiz she hasn't been able to prove herself too much since beating Tada for the WBA female Minimumweight title in what was viewed as a very narrow and close contest. It was a great win Ortiz, especially as it came in Japan, but it was one that should have seen the women rematching rather than both moving on to battle much lesser foes.

Whilst it's harsh to describe any fighter as an undeserving challenger it's a description that does fit for Guro who really has done little to deserve a shot at the WBA female Minimumweight title that Ortiz currently holds. In fact there are few challengers less worth than Guro who doesn't just lack notable wins but also lacks bouts with notable opponents, other than Riyo Togo who stopped Guro in 4 rounds.

Whilst the Togo bout is the most significant one in the 11 fight career of Guro it's also one that brings something else to our attention, Guro has never fought at 105lbs before. In fact her lowest bout, her only one at 108lbs, was more than 2 years ago!

Looking at her career so far there is nothing that Guro has that Ortiz can't handle. Guro hasn't got world class power, speed, skills or any other attribute that could defeat Ortiz who, in front of her own fans, will put on a show.

We're hoping that Ortiz will, following an almost certain victory over Guro, rematch Etsuko Tada or move on to bouts with Ayaka Miyao, Su Yun Hong or Yuko Kuroki. Those fights would actually matter unlike this one, and if it was a higher profile bout we're certain that their would be outrage over Ortiz fighting Guro just like their was outrage surrounding the Danny Garcia Vs Rod Salka bout in the US.